Maiden Voyage
by Aqua-Tranquility
Summary: Dissatisfied with a meaningless career at Phantom Corp. and an even emptier life Juvia leaves everything she knows and moves to the farm she inherited in the small town of Magnolia.
1. Magnolia

The florescent lights flickered above Juvia's head glinting off the grimy linoleum. A hum of machinery accompanied the drone of clacking keys.

Her neck was stiff from grueling hours of hunching over her desk. The joints in her fingers weren't any better. Juvia's eyes were red and burning from looking at her computer screen. She would stop but there was large window, from which the higher ups could observe their employee's work, and Juvia needed this job; she couldn't afford being caught slacking off.

She refocused on her work. At a certain point the numbers, letters, and symbols of various memo's and assignments began to blend together. The keys continued clacking occasionally accompanied by the cracking of stiff joints or low pitch squeal of the antiquated copier. Juvia kept working with methodical practice.

 _Click, click, clack._ Shit, out of staples. Juvia reached for the desk drawer and tried to open it to no avail. _Stuck again_ , the drawer rattled. Leave it to Phantom Corp. to neglect upkeep on their facilities; anything for an extra jewel. _Screech,_ finally, she managed to wrangle the drawer open.

* * *

The cloudy night sky greeted Juvia as she left the office; it was later than she expected. Any later and she would have missed the last train; it wasn't as if she could afford a cab. The city was still bustling, even at this hour. Then again, the city never really slept.

Her feet dragged down the sidewalk. Juvia was still sore, who knew sitting at a desk all day could be so draining, and in a few hours she would repeat the same things again. Wake up, work, collapse into bed after forcing down some cheap fast food. Wash, rinse, repeat; it was a vicious cycle. The city continued to roar around her as Juvia continued dragging her feet. As she was nearing the station she gazed up at the sky. The smog and glaring light from the city obscured everything; you couldn't see the stars. The occasional blinking light from aircraft could hardly be viewed.

Before long Juvia reached the station and not long after a grueling train she was home. Her dingy apartment wasn't the most welcoming place but it was hers. The electricity didn't work reliably on its best day and there was never hot water; at least, it was a roof over her head no matter how structurally sound it _actually_ was. The door creaked on its hinges as Juvia made her way into the apartment. She dumped her coat and briefcase on the sofa before flopping face first onto her bed. Her eye's were drawn to a cerulean jewelry box on her vanity; Juvia had always loved the silver accents that swirled around the lid. Although, calling it a jewelry box may be a bit generous, it had never served its purpose, the box held trinkets Juvia had collected over the years, most of them were from her childhood. _Childhood_ , everything seemed so much simpler when Juvia was younger; she never would have thought that she would grow up to be _so unhappy_. Juvia thought she was going to _be someone_ when she grew up, and now? What _was_ she doing with her life?

Juvia opened the jewelry box gently palming through the contents. Her teru teru bozu doll, a flower pin, a small sewing kit, photos, and _a letter_. It was unopened, who could it be from? The envelope showed wear, the paper of it was worn, it must be from years ago. Why hadn't she ever opened it? Well, now is a good as time as any to find out. Juvia tore the envelope open.

My dearest granddaughter,

 _Grandfather_

I do not have much time left. If I do not see you again before I pass away, know that I will always love you. You are capable of great things. If you are reading this letter you must be in need of a change in your life.

 _What? Wait a second._ Juvia remembered, it had been so long since he had passed away, grandfather had given her this letter when he was on his deathbed. He had told her to only open it when she was ready, _was she ready?_ So many years had passed. Juvia supposed it was okay to read it now. _There's still more?_

I once found myself in a similar situation. I found my solace when I moved to Magnolia. Now, I would like to give you my home there. The deed is enclosed.

In the hopes this will bring you the same happiness it brought me,

Grandpa

* * *

Juvia was beginning to regret handing in her resignation. Dropping everything to move to the middle of nowhere without so much as jewel to her name; well, that wasn't true but five thousand jewels wasn't enough to live off of. Juvia turned toward the bus window, maybe watching the scenery go by would keep her mind off of the enormous mistake she was making. Of course, it didn't last long, the bus jerked snapping Juvia out of her reverie. The bus swerved, _swerved?!_ Juvia looked up front, _was that smoke?_

"Hold on tight! The engine broke down," the bus driver announced over the radio, "no need to panic. We just need to come to a stop," she assured.

Thankfully, Juvia's luck wasn't _all_ bad, they arrived at the Magnolia stop. If the bus had to break down at least it broke down at her destination.

Juvia stumbled off the bus with her luggage; she would have to go without furniture until it was delivered.

"Hey, you must be Juvia!" A women called to her, "welcome to Magnolia! I'm Ur Milkovich the town carpenter. Mayor Makarov asked me to escort you to your new home. He had some business to take care of so he will meet us there."

"Alright," Juvia was sure she could find the place on her own, but it isn't everyday someone new moves to town, so maybe they were excited something was happening here. Country life must be pretty slow.


	2. Name Your Farm

Juvia followed Ur down the dirt path. Living in the country might not be so bad; it would be no worse than working at a dead end job. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and, "we're here," Ur called her attention. Juvia's jaw dropped this place was _a dump!_ This couldn't be the same cozy farm Juvia had spent her summers at as a kid.

No one had lived here since her grandfather passed, but no one had bothered to maintain the place. Granted it was a fairly large plot of land that no one used, of course, it was going to become overgrown. But the house looked _rough_ , to say the least. Cracks climbed up wood like vines. The roof was missing shingles here and there; it was definitely a fixer-upper.

Ur must have noticed Juvia's reaction because she clapped a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "it's going to take some work but I think you can do it," then she continued with a wicked grin, "and if you ever need any work just come to me."

"You never miss an opportunity to drum up business, do you?" An old man approached them, the Mayor, with a grin on his face.

"It's not like the house doesn't need work," Ur replied with a sly grin. Then, she turned to Juvia, "although most of the repairs can wait until after you have the farm up and running, so I wouldn't worry too much about them for the time being."

"What kind of repairs are needed?" What kind of mess had Juvia gotten herself into?

Ur waved Juvia off, "Like I said, there's not much to worry about, all things considered, the place is structurally sound. The foundations still good. Although, the plumbing and electricity could use an update they work just fine. The most immediate concern is the roof; it's falling apart. If you don't get that looked at there could be leaks, which means water damage," she grimaced at that last part.

"Now, now, there's no need to overwhelm Juvia she just arrived," the Mayor cut in.

Ur laughed, "Of course, I'm sure you tired especially with the bus breaking down. I can give you some estimates later."

"You're going to spend this whole time promoting your business, aren't you?" He sighed disgruntled, but there was a small twinkle in his eye; whether it was fondness or amusement Juvia could not tell.

"Well, it's not every day I gain a potential customer within walking distance of my house," she joked.

"Anyway," Juvia broke into the conversation, this could go all day, "I really _am_ tired, so if you could excuse me..."

"Of course! It was so nice to meet you," Ur shook her hand, "I'm sure I'll see you around later, until then, bye!" Ur waved over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Bye," Juvia waved weakly in the direction of Ur's retreating figure.

"Have you come up with a name yet?" The Mayor questioned from Juvia's side.

"A name?"

"All great farms have names," the Mayor continued, "that and we need a name for the town directory."

"Oh, ok, I need some time to think of it."

"Of course, sleep on it, take all the time you need. If you need anything my door is always open." The Mayor left down the path.

A name? Maybe coming up with a name for this farm could encourage her. This farm still felt like her Grandfather's. Giving this farm a name could make it feel like her own.


	3. What Are We Working With?

Juvia opened the door, and the four walls of her home immediately greeted her. Her home was more of a shack than anything.

A bed, cot, in the corner. A fireplace, which must have served as a kitchen. A basin. _Shit! Did this place even have plumbing?!_ Thankfully, Juvia was greeted by a small bathroom around a hardly noticeable corner.

The more Juvia looked the closer she came to realize Ur was _understating_ how much work the farmhouse needed.

Unfortunately, she only had five thousand jewels, a job like this _had_ to be upwards of, _at least_ , a hundred thousand.

* * *

Juvia was going to have to farm. Juvia knew she was going to have to farm to make a living when she came, but she also hadn't expected to arrive at a dilapidated farm. Living off the land and paying a small tax wasn't going to work. Now Juvia needed to fix up the farmhouse, _at the very least_ , and that took capital.

The town should have somewhere to purchase seeds. Before she knew it, the worn dirt path gave way to cobblestones. The first building was, upon further inspection, a doctor's office. Against the building next to it was a message board littered with help wanted posters and announcements.

A bell chimed to Juvia's right a large man left the grocery store? Muscular arms filled to the brim with overflowing plastic bags.

Those were groceries, at the very least, Juvia could try to grow something from whatever fruit and vegetables; well try at least.

* * *

She pushed open the door; the bell chimed, it looked like a general store. There was an area for food, another for small household items, and in a rural area like this, they had to have seeds somewhere.

"Hey, do you need any help?" A man questioned from Juvia's right.

 _What was he wearing?_ A tight crop top with a fur-lined vest over it. Long gloves that went up past his elbows were those ribbons? Puffy pants held up by suspenders, of all things, suspenders. Who let him think this made sense? Juvia really couldn't claim to be particularly stylish, but this was the sort of outfit choice that _even Ichiya_ on BPN would rip to shreds and he always had something nice to say. The blonde in front of her would probably have the talk show host at a loss for words.

"Yes, I'm looking for seeds."

A big smile broke out on his face, "so you're the new girl!" He pointed to himself, was he posing? " The name's Sting."

A raven-haired man came around the corner, "Sting the potatoes need to restocked."

Sting smirked, "have Minerva do it. I'm helping a customer."

"Oh, you moved into that farm down the road."

"Ah," Juvia gasped in surprise, "yes, I recently inherited it from my Grandfather. My name's Juvia it's nice to meet you!" She held out her hand to shake his; _old habits really do die hard_ , it wasn't as if she still worked in an office, fortunately, he wasn't phased.

"Rogue, I run this establishment with my sister Minerva and Sting, I hope you'll come to us with any of your shopping needs." He didn't press for her to buy from them thankfully; Juvia had encountered her fair share of pushy salesman, and she hated how they pressured people to buy their products through any means. Not that it ever stopped Juvia from buying something.

"It was nice to meet you," he smiled as he excused himself.

"Alright, time to find some seeds," Sting announced boisterously as he began to lead Juvia to another area of the store.

"Shouldn't you already know?" Juvia replied flatly. A series of cackles and snickers erupted in some other area of the store, probably by the register.

Sting smirked, "I'm a seed expert," he gestured to a wire rack in front of him, "we have fruits, vegetables, and flowers here. We stock this by season, so right now we only have spring crops."

"Thank you."

"Alright, well I'll leave you to it. If you have any questions just holler." Sting disappeared around a corner.

* * *

Juvia perused the selection; potatoes seemed like they would be easy enough to grow. She had to start somewhere.

"You should try to grow strawberries. Erza could never turn down fresh strawberries," Someone piped up.

Juvia turned and was greeted by a petite girl with short cropped white hair. "My name's Lisanna, my family runs the Strauss Tavern just down the road."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Juvia. Although, everybody seems to know that already."

Lisanna giggled, "Yeah, that's one of the cons of living in a small town, news travels fast."

"So I've seen...why do you think I should grow strawberries?"

"They're in season for one. Plus Erza loves them, and if you need tools, she's the only person for miles that sells them. Maybe you could use them to bribe her into a discount."

"Does she work here...because I don't think that's going to do me much good today."

"No, she's a Blacksmith."

 _A blacksmith, was this town stuck in another century?_


	4. Real Talk With Real Folks

Juvia set aside her seeds and fertilizer. Planting would have to wait.

The land was overgrown. Trees where littered everywhere, weeds dominated everything, rocks, some larger than her head seemed to appear every couple feet.

Oddly enough, there was a portion free of debris. All Juvia would have to do is clear the weeds.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set, so Juvia decided to call it a day. She should be able to start planting tomorrow.

Now that she had gotten some work done she should do what she moved out here to do, relax. Lisanna mentioned the tavern maybe she should stop by for a drink and meet some more people; Magnolia was more densely populated than it appeared.

* * *

As it turned out, the Tavern was almost directly across from the grocery store.

As Juvia walked in, she was overcome with the natural warmth of the bar. A white hair beauty beckoned her over; _she must be related to Lisanna_. A grin was plastered on her face.

"I'm Mirajane, and this is my ex-girlfriend Erza," she introduced herself with a smirk. She gestured to the redhead sitting at the bar. Juvia's eyes were immediately drawn to her arms she was definitely the blacksmith.

Erza looked exasperated, "I told you to stop calling me that," she turned to Juvia, "I'm her wife," she corrected like she had done this a thousand times before; Mirajane looked like the cat that ate the canary.

Juvia could feel the flush rising in her cheeks, now that Erza's piercing gaze and Mirajane's teasing grin were directed her way, "It's nice to meet you both, I'm Juvia," she barely managed to stutter out.

"So, what's your drink," Mirajane asked.

* * *

Despite Mirajane's teasing, eventually, Juvia was comfortable. She settled in a space next to a blonde. Down the bar, a scantily clad brunette downed what must have been a barrel of beer.

"I'm guessing you're new," the blonde questioned from next to her, "my name's Lucy, I live down on the beach."

"Juvia," she returned the greeting, "I didn't realize there were any houses down on the beach?"

"Yeah, just mine and now I know why," Lucy smirked, "pretty much everything is in walking distance, so it isn't really necessary to build there, but I thought it would be romantic so here I am tracking a never-ending amount of sand everywhere I go."

"I suppose, sometimes what you imagine is different from reality. I thought living on a farm would be quaint, just carefree like the fresh air would, I don't know, lighten the load."

"Not what you imagined either?"

"It's going to be a lot more work."

"Likewise," Lucy sighed, her head propped up with one of her hands as she stirred her drink, "I've had a serious case of writer's block for a while now. I guess, sometimes a change of scenery isn't enough."


	5. Trespasser

Juvia awoke to harsh sunlight blazing through her window and sound of cheering through her window.

There wasn't a house close enough for her to hear her neighbors which could only mean one thing; someone was trespassing.

Juvia stumbled up, despite the pounding in her head, toward the bathroom. She scrubbed the sleep from her face.

The sounds of something being kicked made their way to her ears.

She was not facing whatever was outside her front door without a cup of coffee.

* * *

Properly caffeinated, Juvia opened her front door ready to face whatever was waiting for her and was nearly hit with a soccer ball.

"Hey, you must be the new neighbor," a guy with pink hair jogged up to her door, "the name's Natsu. Can I have my ball back?"

"No."

"Than-..wait what? Why?"

"Why are you using my field?" Juvia was lucky she hadn't begun planting. The clearly defined patch of land she had weeded yesterday must have been Natsu's makeshift field.

"I need to practice if I want to go pro, you've probably heard of me, I'm going to be an alternate at the Hargeon Soccer Club," he shot a cheeky grin Juvia's way, "what do you want an autograph?" Natsu added unprompted at Juvia's silent exasperation.

"Get off my property," Juvia shut the door in Natsu's face.

* * *

Around noon she decided that maybe she should return Natsu's ball so she headed to the beach; Lucy probably had a good idea of where he lived.

Juvia found Lucy lounged under an umbrella, sunglasses perched on her face, pen and paper in hand. Lisanna was spayed out on a towel by her side.

Juvia inched forward wishing she had toed off her shoes and socks before walking over. She would have sand in her shoes for days now, "Hello," she greeted, almost stumbling over the word. She slapped a smile on her face; the corner of her lips twitched nervously.

"Juvia, how's it going?" Lisanna answered cheerfully, a smile blossomed on her face.

Lucy jolted up with a start, her sunglasses slid partway down her face, she squinted and raised an arm to block the sunlight, "Ugh, it's...too...bright," she groaned, "living on the beach was...the...worst...idea."

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Lisanna smirked at Lucy who pushed her sunglasses back up the bridge of her nose with a sulking pout.

Lucy glanced over at Juvia, checks still puffed out, "Juvia defend me," she whined, "you understand."

Juvia shifted Natsu's soccer ball in her arms, "this morning was...definitely...a challenge."

Lisanna's eyes landed on the soccer ball in her arms, "is that Natsu's?"

"You know him?"

"Yeah, we both grew up here, so what's going on?"

"He was messing around on my farm this morning and he left this," she held up the ball, "do you know where I can return it?"

"Or you could punt it into the ocean," Lucy cut in a smirk playing on the corners of her lips.

"No, thank you; if he thinks I held onto it, he might try to give me his autograph again."

Lucy started cackling uncontrollably and Lisanna attempted to fight giggles of her own, "He lives with his grandmothers across from the tavern. Good luck!"

* * *

Juvia approached the house, an elderly woman was gardening by the door.

"Hello, ma'am, is this where Natsu lives?"

"You can just call me Mrs. Mavis," she replied as she dusted herself off, "and you must be Juvia. Your late grandfather was a family friend. You bear a striking resemblance to him."

"Really? I haven't heard that before." Juvia couldn't remember much about her grandfather, "Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and return this," she held up the soccer ball, "Natsu left it on my farm."

"I hope he hasn't been causing you any trouble"

 _He really has_ , Juvia almost replied but she didn't want Mrs. Mavis to feel like she had to apologize for something that was entirely Natsu's fault.

"Not at all," Juvia couldn't help the little twitch of her lip, "he seems very passionate," she chose her words with care. Maybe, could convince Natsu to practice somewhere else if she hinted hard enough.

Mrs. Mavis pursed her lips for a moment and quirked an eyebrow, "well, that's good to hear, Natsu has always been a troublemaker," she joked.

"Really? I would never have guessed…", she attempted to prevent any sarcasm from leaking into her tone. This Natsu guy was going to be a problem; Juvia could feel in her bones.

Mrs. Mavis chuckled, "we were hoping that maybe he would mature a little with age, but he hasn't gotten there yet," the hint of a smile pulled at the corner of her lips, "regardless, if he ever makes a nuisance of himself just let me know and I'll straighten him out for you."

"Thank you, I'll make sure that I do," Juvia agreed with a polite smile, "it was nice to meet you. I'll let you get back to your gardening," she waved goodbye.

"Come by anytime," Mrs. Mavis called.

* * *

"Hey, open up!" Someone pounded on Juvia's door waking her from her slumber. Dawn was still breaking on the horizon. She pulled herself up, the bone-deep ache from further clearing the field made itself known again on her way to the door.

She opened the door just as Natsu went to pound it again missing her by a hair's breathe, "What do you want?"

A grin pulled at his face, he looked smug, "I'm here to help you out."

"No, thank you," she moved to close the door.


	6. If you Want to eat you Have to Work

In Natsu's defense, he really hadn't meant to send the soccer ball hurtling towards the new girl's face.

The farm was abandoned for years why should he be expected to know that someone moved in. Sting had mentioned a new resident in Magnolia. He assumed she was working at the inn or a struggling artist like Lucy and Reedus. It wasn't like new people moved to Magnolia every day or even often. Plus, where was he expected to practice? Lockser Farm may be littered with garbage from disuse, but it was the only place he could practice and be out of the way. If he was ever going to be a regular he had to practice. Maybe she would understand if he told her.

So Natsu introduced himself and asked for his ball back while he was at it; what was the harm? It was in her house anyway.

"No."

"Than-..wait what? Why?"

"Why are you using my field?"

"I need to practice if I want to go pro, you've probably heard of me, I'm going to be an alternate at the Hargeon Soccer Club," he shot a grin Juvia's way. If she understood why they could move on and he would be able to get back to practice. Wait. She wanted something for her trouble, no problem. "what do you want an autograph?"

"Get off my property." The door slammed shut in his face. He would have to try again later. In the meantime, he could focus on conditioning instead.

* * *

Natsu found himself on another morning run. What was he going to do?

He could have someone help him practice. The Milkovich's might have an extra ball lying around somewhere. Erza and Mira could both probably bench press double what he could but, even if they played soccer, they were too busy. Elfman only cared about honing his glamour muscles. If he invited ice for brains, Lyon would want to come, and Gray would spend all his time drooling over him. Lisanna spent all her time around Lucy nowadays. Wendy and Levy preferred books to sports. Sting was too annoying. Rogue moved like a ghost. Minerva might murder him given a chance. Maybe the new girl could help once she cooled off. She had pretty good reflexes, and her farm was a perfect practice field.

He'd just ask the first person he ran into.

* * *

Lisanna was sweeping the steps of Strauss Tavern. Perfect. Lisanna wasn't a pro or anything, but she always helped out.

"Lisanna!"

She looked up before waving Natsu over. "Hey, Natsu. What's going on?"

"My plans to practice fell through. Do me a solid. Help me out."

"I don't know..." Lisanna took a thoughtful pause tapping her upturned lips with her index finger. "Do you know the magic words?"

"Huh...oh...um! Please?"

A bright smile shone on her face. "No problem, meet me at the beach a quarter past one."

* * *

A quarter past one Natsu met Lisanna at the beach. Lucy was lounging next to her on the sand. Since when were they so close?

Lucy saw him first. Her sunglasses slid down the bridge of her nose so she could give him an appraising look. She blew out a low whistle. "The prodigal son returns."

"What?" He barely knew Lucy. What was she even trying to say?

Lisanna glanced up, "it means we heard all about this morning from Juvia."

"Juvia, who?" the only people he saw that morning were the new girl and Lisanna.

"Juvia Lockser," Lucy drawled, "you burst onto her farm this morning and, apparently, instead of apologizing like a normal person you offered her your autograph. Real smooth."

Lisanna rolled her shoulders back and stretched like a cat sunning itself. "You really should apologize."

"I suggested that she punt your soccer ball into the ocean. But, she was dead set on returning it. We pointed her in the direction of your place," Lucy said.

"It was an hour ago," Lisanna said with a cheshire cat grin. Sometimes, she was just as much of a demon as Mira or Erza. "If you're lucky she talked to Nana Mavi instead of Grams."

"Are you still going to help me?"

"Of course," Lisanna replied, "are you sure you don't want to rush back?"

"Nah." He would deal with it when he got home. "This is more important."

* * *

The sun began to dip below the waves. Lisanna put a stop to his training.

"Breaks are just as important as the work you put in," Lisanna chided. Lucy snorted. "The same goes for you." She added before snatching the pen and paper out of Lucy's hands. "Besides, we have to look for the green flash."

"Isn't that a myth?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe, but it is tradition," Lisanna said, "and every time we're here at sunset we look for it."

"So you haven't seen it yet." Lucy gazed at the horizon

"Natsu thinks that he saw it."

"I did!"

"When no one else was around." Lisanna shot him down.

"I did!"

"Awfully convenient there were no witnesses," Lucy remarked as she and Lisanna shared teasing grins.

"You'll see when it happens," he said. His arms crossed across his chest.

Lisanna giggled to his side. She nudged him playfully with her elbow. "I'm just giving you a hard time." The sun sunk below the ocean waves. "I guess that's a no on green flashes and fairy tails for today."

"See ya tomorrow!" Natsu said as he waved goodbye.

"Good luck," Lisanna called after him as Lucy waved him away. He was an adult. He couldn't be scolded.

* * *

He inched open the door. Natsu was afraid of nothing. Happy welcomed him at the door. The clatter of plates and mummer of voices could be heard further in the house. He made his way into the kitchen only to see his grandma's waiting for him.

"Welcome home Natsu," his Nana greeted him, "how was your day?"

"Good. I practiced with Lisanna. Lucy watched."

"Anything else?" Grams questioned.

"Not really."

"Well, I had a visit from our new neighbor today," his Nana continued, "Juvia came to return your ball."

"Cool."

"Not cool," Grams interrupted, "not cool at all. We need to talk."

"I'm sorry ok. I didn't know someone moved in."

"It's time you got serious about your future," Grams said. "Everyone has dreams, but you have to work in the meantime. You can't do whatever you like. You can not just coast."

"Natsu, what we are trying to say is, you graduated five years ago. You're twenty-five. Please, you need to get a job; we can't support you forever."

"I'm going to be an alternate." So what? He was going to make it. How could they not believe in him; they're family.

"And that's only on the weekends; if you play at all," Grams said.

"So?"

"So, find something to do," Nana argued, brow furrowed, "anything at all. Maybe, you could lend Juvia a hand. Running a farm is difficult work, especially, for one person."


End file.
